from The American Israelite (Cincinnati): Jewish Foundation invests in innovative new initiatives at HUC, JFS The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati announced two new significant investments in the Cincinnati Jewish community: a transformative five-year, $5.225 million grant that will enable Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) to enhance its rabbinical student curriculum and to focus more of its resources on serving the Cincinnati Jewish community... HUC-JIR will use a portion of its grant dollars to develop the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Fellows Program – an advanced service learning curriculum that will dispatch rabbinical students to help build capacity and serve community needs through paid internships at local Jewish institutions. Additional grant funding … Continue Reading
America’s First Female Rabbi Reflects on Four Decades Since Ordination
In an interview with JointMedia News Service, Rabbi Sally Priesand discusses the obstacles she overcame to attain ordination and find her own pulpit, as well as how the presence of women has changed the nature of the rabbinate. by Michele Alperin JointMedia News Service Rabbi Sally Priesand, America’s first seminary-ordained female rabbi, decided at age 16 to pursue her calling. “I always wanted to be a teacher of whatever was my favorite subject,” she tells JointMedia News Service. “In the end, I decided to become a teacher of Judaism.” June 3 will mark the 40th anniversary of Priesand’s historic ordination at the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College (HUC). Fortunately, her parents were firmly behind her four decades ago. “I feel that my parents gave me one of the … Continue Reading
The Campaign for Youth Engagement: A Call to Action
by Rabbi Jonah Pesner There have been several articles recently about the issue of engaging teens in Jewish life. Many claim to have found the golden ticket - the one program that can solve this problem. As it should be, this issue of engaging teens is at the top of the list for many in the Jewish community and we in the Reform Movement share both the concern and the excitement about how to engage the next generation. This problem will require numerous solutions, including expanding beyond the walls of our synagogues and indeed, outside our own Movement. Our Jewish organizations are full of dedicated and creative lay people and professionals who successfully connect with youth, but still the facts are grim. Research tells us that if current trends continue, approximately 80% of the children … Continue Reading
How Open is HUC to Dissenting Views?
Hebrew Union College prides itself on being open and pluralistic. But some Reform rabbinical students say the reality contradicts this vision. from Tablet Magazine: Disunion Earlier this year, word spread that the president of Hebrew Union College had been approached by a potential funder who wanted to endow the school with a chair for a politically conservative scholar. Like countless other religious and academic institutions, HUC had suffered tremendously in the aftermath of the financial meltdown of 2008. Less than three years ago, the seminary faced a $3 million deficit. Professors’ salaries had been cut, tuition had been raised, and reports surfaced that the school was considering closing two of its three American campuses. The school “was in the most challenging position it has … Continue Reading
Survey Confirms Depth of the Political Divide Among Jewish Voters
In a study conducted by Hebrew Union College Professor Steven Windmueller involving some 2300 Jewish voters the findings confirm a deep liberal-conservative split which models the current political landscape of the country. In this particular study one finds a distinctive Jewish conservative voice emerging on Israel-related matters and an array of domestic social issues. The data also suggests that among highly engaged Jews, those who are active within Jewish religious and communal life, there is a sharp divide on political attitudes and policies. The intensity of this political and social disconnect could also be seen in the additional comments offered by many participants to this survey. In the statements that accompanied a number of specific questions and at the conclusion to the study, … Continue Reading
An Insider Speaks on Reform Judaism Today
excerpted from Reform Judaism Isn’t an Island by Rabbi David Ellenson These days, everyone seems to have something to say about what they think is wrong with Reform Judaism. We have heard that the Reform movement is, at best, in stasis and, at worst, facing a significant decline in its membership rolls. Some argue that Reform institutions are insufficiently nimble and overly bureaucratic. Others point to what they see as an underlying ideological or theological malaise, suggesting that Reform Judaism does not galvanize Reform Jews to acknowledge and act upon their covenantal obligations. Many of the critiques come from within our movement, others from outside it. Most are offered as constructive criticism, while a few are mean-spirited polemics. Amid this wave of criticism and … Continue Reading
New Master’s Concentration in Israel Education Launched
In a new partnership, six American academic institutions are teaming up to offer their graduate students a Master’s Concentration Program in Israel education. Selected students will study a common curriculum, gather together for eight colloquium days, receive ongoing individual mentoring, and create their own learning experience in Israel. Students are also expected to be proficient in Hebrew by the end of the program. The program will be coordinated by The iCenter, a national nonprofit whose aim is to dramatically enhance pre-collegiate Israel education in North America. Set to launch this May, the program is recruiting for its inaugural cohort of 18 students from: Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education at Yeshiva University Davidson School of Jewish Education at the Jewish … Continue Reading
The Changing Fortunes of America’s Religious Streams
Liberal Denominations Face Crisis as Rabbis Rebel, Numbers Shrink by Josh Nathan-Kazis Conservative Judaism’s membership rolls are in free fall. According to a strategic plan for renewal issued in February by the denomination’s congregational arm, the number of families served by synagogues belonging to what was once American Judaism’s leading stream has shrunk by 14% since 2001. In the denomination’s Northeast region, the number of families has dropped by 30%. The new draft strategic plan by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism proposes ways for the USCJ to regain some of that lost ground. And the plan comes, as it turns out, at a fraught moment not just for Conservative Judaism, but for all the synagogue organizations that anchor America’s liberal Jewish … Continue Reading
HUC to Rename Los Angeles Campus
Hebrew Union College will rename its Los Angeles campus in memory of Jack H. Skirball. Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, Skirball attended the University of Cincinnati and Western Reserve College in Cleveland and then studied for the rabbinate at Hebrew Union College. After his ordination in 1921, he pursued graduate work in philosophy and sociology at the University of Chicago, then served as an assistant rabbi in Cleveland for two years and rabbi of the Washington Avenue Temple in Evansville, Indiana, for seven years. In 1933, he took a leave of absence from the Evansville congregation to become the manager of Educational Films Corporation, a pioneer in the field of audiovisual education. While with Educational Films, he produced Birth of a Baby, the first motion picture to show the actual … Continue Reading
HUC Renames School of Sacred Music in Memory of Debbie Friedman
At a memorial tribute to Debbie Friedman at Central Synagogue on January 27, 2011, Rabbi David Ellenson, President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, made the following announcement: A beloved member of our faculty since 2007, Debbie Friedman, z”l, inspired our students through her creativity and musical talents, helped guide their spiritual and leadership development, and provided them with innovative strategies to transform congregations into communities of learning and meaning. Our students were blessed by her devotion, and our faculty was enriched by her gifts and talents. Her words and her music will live on and shape the world of prayer in our synagogues and in the larger Jewish community for this and future generations. Generous friends of the College-Institute have … Continue Reading
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